WEBWISE European Network on Patient Empowerment The European Network on Patient Empowerment (Enope) is a non-profit, non-political network to put patients at the heart of services. It brings together organisations that implement patient empowerment programmes across Europe through evidence-based projects that focus on living with chronic disease. Its website hosts an excellent ‘What is patient empowerment?’ video, and a concise explanation of why it is important to design and deliver health and social care services in ways that are inclusive and enable patients to take control of their healthcare needs. Much of the news content on the site could do with updating, but there is good information throughout, particularly in the resources section. There are downloadable pdfs, for example, on an innovative care model for chronic conditions, empowerment through technology, and seeing patients as a resource rather than a problem. Key Enope members include the Careum teaching hospital in Zurich, the Danish Committee for Health Education and the European Patients’ Forum. There are links to their sites. Much of the information about Enope’s conference participation links in English to the Careum website at www.careum.ch This is worth checking out for information on the semantic web and Health 3.0 – the health-related extension of Web 3.0, where the user’s interface with web data is personalised to optimise their experience. Helena Soni is a practice nurse in south London www.enope.eu See www.nursing-standard.co.uk for previous website reviews
Reviews
TV :: radio :: books :: websites :: apps Contexts of Nursing – Fourth edition ★★★★★
This popular text, now available in an updated fourth edition, explores key concepts of nursing practice. It embraces nurses and nursing, encouraging personal reflection, discussion and debate. Written by scholars in Australia and New Zealand, it is aimed at undergraduates in Australasia, but its transferable content makes it an excellent professional resource. The book’s open format helps to overcome what some may perceive to
be the dry topics of nursing theory, research and politics. Each chapter begins with learning objectives and keywords, with the opportunity to reflect on knowledge. There are links for further reading and comprehensive references. Topics include nursing as an art and science, critical thinking, ethics, law, leadership and working as part of a multidisciplinary healthcare team. I thoroughly enjoyed the chapter on heroines, hookers and harridans, and the perception of nurses as angels and handmaidens to the doctor. This helped me to reflect on how the profession is being shaped by the media.
John Daly et al | Elsevier/Churchill Livingstone | 412pp | Aus $83.25/£48.83 | ISBN: 978 0 7295 4152 7 Reviewed by Valerie McGurk, practice development facilitator, paediatrics, Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust
Skills for Communicating with Patients – Third edition ★★★ Good communication is important for healthcare professionals at all levels, but it is a crucial skill for nurses. This book, now in its third edition and highly commended by the British Medical Association, may be used to achieve continuing professional development points through directed reading. This substantially expanded edition has been updated in relation to the latest literature and revised to reflect the explosion of research on healthcare communication since the second edition was published in 2004. It begins with an overview of communication skills, the curriculum
and initiating the session. It looks at history-taking and gathering of information, providing structure to the interview and building the relationship with the patient. There are discussions on explanation, getting the message across, listening and the theoretical approaches to communication. It forms a reliable, evidence-based guide for healthcare practitioners in their interactions with patients. While focused on the medical profession, the skills discussed are relevant to nurses. The scenarios involve doctors, but the skills and interactions are transferable to nurse-patient communication. The authors look at the definition of disease and illness, and discovering the patient’s perspective in terms of ideas and beliefs, concerns and expectations. The index is comprehensive, which is helpful for those researching specific situations. It is also well referenced.
Jonathan Silverman et al | Radcliffe Publishing | 312pp | £34.99 | ISBN: 978 1 8461 9365 1 Reviewed by Grant Byrne, nursing student at the University of Glasgow
Key Excellent ★★★★★
Very good ★★★★ Good ★★★ Average ★★ Poor ★
32 october 22 ::from vol 29 no 8 :: 2014 STANDARD Downloaded RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 29, 2015. For personal use only. NoNURSING other uses without permission. Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
Reviews
TV :: radio :: books :: websites :: apps Contexts of Nursing – Fourth edition ★★★★★
This popular text, now available in an updated fourth edition, explores key concepts of nursing practice. It embraces nurses and nursing, encouraging personal reflection, discussion and debate. Written by scholars in Australia and New Zealand, it is aimed at undergraduates in Australasia, but its transferable content makes it an excellent professional resource. The book’s open format helps to overcome what some may perceive to
be the dry topics of nursing theory, research and politics. Each chapter begins with learning objectives and keywords, with the opportunity to reflect on knowledge. There are links for further reading and comprehensive references. Topics include nursing as an art and science, critical thinking, ethics, law, leadership and working as part of a multidisciplinary healthcare team. I thoroughly enjoyed the chapter on heroines, hookers and harridans, and the perception of nurses as angels and handmaidens to the doctor. This helped me to reflect on how the profession is being shaped by the media.
John Daly et al | Elsevier/Churchill Livingstone | 412pp | Aus $83.25/£48.83 | ISBN: 978 0 7295 4152 7 Reviewed by Valerie McGurk, practice development facilitator, paediatrics, Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust
Skills for Communicating with Patients – Third edition ★★★ Good communication is important for healthcare professionals at all levels, but it is a crucial skill for nurses. This book, now in its third edition and highly commended by the British Medical Association, may be used to achieve continuing professional development points through directed reading. This substantially expanded edition has been updated in relation to the latest literature and revised to reflect the explosion of research on healthcare communication since the second edition was published in 2004. It begins with an overview of communication skills, the curriculum
and initiating the session. It looks at history-taking and gathering of information, providing structure to the interview and building the relationship with the patient. There are discussions on explanation, getting the message across, listening and the theoretical approaches to communication. It forms a reliable, evidence-based guide for healthcare practitioners in their interactions with patients. While focused on the medical profession, the skills discussed are relevant to nurses. The scenarios involve doctors, but the skills and interactions are transferable to nurse-patient communication. The authors look at the definition of disease and illness, and discovering the patient’s perspective in terms of ideas and beliefs, concerns and expectations. The index is comprehensive, which is helpful for those researching specific situations. It is also well referenced.
Jonathan Silverman et al | Radcliffe Publishing | 312pp | £34.99 | ISBN: 978 1 8461 9365 1 Reviewed by Grant Byrne, nursing student at the University of Glasgow
Key Excellent ★★★★★
Very good ★★★★ Good ★★★ Average ★★ Poor ★
32 october 22 ::from vol 29 no 8 :: 2014 STANDARD Downloaded RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 29, 2015. For personal use only. NoNURSING other uses without permission. Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
